Pondosa, Oregon

Unincorporated community in the state of Oregon, United States

Unincorporated community in Oregon, United States
45°0′29″N 117°38′34″W / 45.00806°N 117.64278°W / 45.00806; -117.64278CountryUnited StatesStateOregonCountyUnionElevation
[1]
3,261 ft (994 m)Time zoneUTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)GNIS feature ID1136642[1]

Pondosa is an unincorporated community and ghost town[2] in Union County, Oregon, United States.

The town came into being in 1927, when the four Stoddard brothers of La Grande bought land in the area.[3] They moved the sawmill operations of the Grande Ronde Lumber Company in nearby Perry to the site.[3] The town was named after the Ponderosa Pines that dotted the area.[3] A post office was established in 1927.[3] In 1931, Truman Collins of The Collins Companies of Portland bought the mill.[4] The mill was sold again in 1956, this time to Boise Cascade, which made plans to shut down the mill.[3] This caused the decline of the town, which had over 500 inhabitants at the time.[3] The post office was discontinued[3] following a severe fire that damaged the majority of the town on June 20, 1959.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Pondosa, Oregon
  2. ^ a b Bebout, Bill (June 22, 1959). "Ghost Town Of Pondosa Left In Charred Ruins By Flames". La Grande Observer. La Grande, Oregon. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Barklow, Irene (1987). From Trails to Rails: The Post Offices, Stage Stops and Wagon Roads of Union County. Enterprise, Oregon: Enchantments Publishing of Oregon. pp. 224–227. ISBN 0-9618185-0-6.
  4. ^ "A History of The Collins Companies". The Collins Companies. 2005. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
  • Pictorial History of Pondosa from Union County, Oregon Genealogy and History
  • Britton, Lisa (August 13, 2021). "Town's Gone But the Store Stays". Baker City Herald. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
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Municipalities and communities of Union County, Oregon, United States
County seat: La Grande
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